Witch Statue
by Rocky and CG
Summary: A witch has turned Princess Zelda into stone and steals her away. Months have passed and there are still no signs of the witch or the princess, despite the search parties or the many individuals, dressed in green, who think they're the Hero of Legends.
1. Chapter 1

"How dare you not honor my demands!" the storyteller said in a falsetto voice, as he held up an illustration of an angry looking, hooked-nose witch yelling at an older man wearing a crown. "First off," the storyteller switched to a more masculine-gruff voice to reflect the man's, "your demands are completely ridiculous!" The storyteller shook the picture to emphasis the last two words, earning a few giggles from the group of children in front of him. "Second, well, why should I honor your demands?" he continued before switching over to the witch's voice. "Hmmm. All good points. Okay. How about a trade, then?" Back to the man's voice, "Ha! What could you possible trade?" The storyteller moved the picture is a slightly mischievous way. "Well," he spoke with the witch's voice, "how about...the princess! M'whahaha!" He pulled out the next illustration showing the princess being turned into stone, he even added lighting bolts to represent the evil magic. "Aiiyee," he gave a muffled, high-pitch scream. The children gasped. In the next illustration, the witch was carrying off the turned-to-stone princess away from the castle. "That's right! Until my demands are met, you will never see the princess again!"

"And that," the storyteller came out from behind his illustrations, "is the story so far." He was short, young man, with buck teeth and sandy-colored hair.

"What's going to happen to the princess?" one little girl asked.

"Right now she's still in the clutches of the witch." Seeing the children growing anxious, he gave a light-hearted laugh. "But don't worry! If you know the legends of old, you'll know a hero in green is going to come along and rescue her!" He held up an illustration of man wearing the legendary green clothes of the Hero and holding a sword in a cool action pose. "That's why..." he glanced around at many of the men, even a few women, dressed in green, "there are so many people in Castle Town these days."

A few of the parents looked at each other and murmuring: "Oh, is that the reason for this fashion trend."

"Do you really think the Hero is here?" a boy asked.

"Hey, with all these people around, one of them has to be. So, how did you all like the story?"

The children were satisfied, knowing a happy ending would come. With their children having been entertained, the parents left rupees in the basket in front of the storyteller. A handful of the boys started swinging imaginary swords, acting out the witch's defeat, and a few girls pretended to be the princess. Which was basically standing perfectly still, since the princess was a statue.

"Move it, princess," their respective parents said. Laughter was held and the storyteller went to put away the rupees and his illustrations.

"Hmm?" He looked up and saw there was still on audience member left: A young man with fair hair and dressed in blue. The young man was also asleep. "Hey..." the storytelling said, sounding a little hurt. "My story wasn't that boring was it?" He could hear snoring coming from the young man. "Aww! It was that boring?" the storyteller asked, feeling distressed.

The outcry woke up the young man. "Huh? What?" He looked around. "Oh no, did I miss the end of the story?"

"You did like it?" the storyteller asked.

Wiping sleep out of his eye, the young man nodded. "Well, yeah, I love those stories. I love them so much," he gave a yawn, "that's why I'm so sleepy. I didn't get much sleep on the ride over here."

"Oh, are you one of those would-be heroes?"

"Me?" The young man pointed to himself. "Oh no, I'm not would-be hero. I'm a would-be scholar!" He gave a friendly smile.

"Would-be scholar? How do you become one of those?" 

"Ummmm..." the young man thought back to the reason. "They kinda kick you out of the university if you flunk so many times."

"That's too bad, pal."

The young man nodded. "Yeah, that's what most of my professors said, too. Especially since I know all the legends. It's just..." the young man trailed off.

"Hey, you don't have to explain it to me. School isn't my thing, either."

"Yeah, I know, right! But, I mean I got to make a living somehow. So, I thought, why not become a storyteller like you?"

"Aw," the storyteller rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it pleases me that you think so highly of my story, but this is just a side job. You gotta have a couple of them to pay the bills."

The young man nodded. "Mm. Mm."

"You know, why don't you hang around with me. I could take you on as an apprentice. I never had an underling..."

"That's not a bad idea. Maybe after the princess is saved, though. I heard a bunch of those would-be heroes are going to check out a lead tomorrow and I want to go with them."

"Huh? But you said you weren't a would-be hero."

"I'm not. It's just," the young man reached into his satchel and pulled out a journal. "I really do love these stories! And to have one actually happening in my lifetime? How cool is that!"

"You seem really psyched about this!"

"I am! Like I said, I know all the legends. When I was a student, I got to read all known recorded stories. I even got to talk to the Gossip Stones who told me some secret stuff." He held up a picture of one of the Gossip Stones. "I want to add to the collection of legends. That's why I came to Castle Town, so I could see everything with my own eyes!"

The storyteller gave a chuckle. "Good luck on that. Nothing's happened since Princess Zelda was kidnapped, what...3 months ago? Yeah, 3 months ago. Hmm. Well, besides all these would-be heroes showing up. I mean, people are looking, but nothing." The storyteller held out his hand towards the young man. "So, what's your name, stranger?"

The young man shook the storyteller's hand. "I'm Link."

"Ha!" the story teller laughed. "You even have the name that means 'hero'."

Link shrugged and smiled. "It's a popular name in my town."

"Hey, Link, I got an idea. Since you didn't get to hear the end of my story, buy me a milk and I'll finish it for you."

"Okay!"

The two set off for the popular establishment: The Milk Bar. Fortunately, because they arrived before the lunch rush began, they were able to get a good table. As per his request, Link got the storyteller, and himself, a milk. In fact, many patrons were enjoying a glass of ice cold milk with their meal. too. But don't be fooled, the Milk Bar didn't just serve milk to drink. No, of course not. They also served juice.

"Milk? Juice? Bah!" scoffed one beefy looking man to the bartender. "I don't want those baby drinks. I want a real, adult drink! Something that'll kick you in the face and put hair on your chest!"

The bartender leaned in, nodding his head. "Don't worry, I'll hook you up. I got the good stuff in back." With that, he ventured into said back for a moment before reappearing with a mug. "Here you go: One cup of black coffee."

"Yes!" cheered the beefy man. "That's what I'm talking about."

"So," the story teller continued at their table. "How did you like the rest of the story?"

Link nodded while he chewed on his lunch. "Great adaption. I love the pictures. I'm surprised you didn't include the witch's demands in it, though."

"That's because...her demands are silly."

Link nodded again. "When I first heard her demands, I was shocked. I mean, in the tales, whoever kidnaps the princess wanted to harness the immense power inside of her. Not want...those things."

"I was shocked just because of how silly those things are."

"Hmm. If it was gold or jewels or magical items, I could see that, but...How does she expect anyone to get those things?" Link crossed his arms and looked down. "I guess they are kinda silly."

"Very silly. In fact, my friends say, oh hey! There they are." The storyteller waved them over.

Link saw five guys pulling a chair to the table. Three of them were burly, tall men, while the other 2 were small like the storyteller. They had perfect timing because a whole load of people started to show up for the lunch rush.

"Hey gang, meet my new friend," the storyteller said. "This is Link. He's from Ordon."

"Oh, that's the place where all those Gossip Stone showed up, right?" Another short guy, who wore cracked glasses, said. "So, I take we have another would-be hero?"

"Nah. Just a would-be scholar," Link answered. He continued, not even seeing a few of them raise their eyebrow at his response. "But yeah, we had a bunch of would-be heroes show up in my town last month. Surprisingly, the Gossip Stones haven't said anything about this kidnapping."

"Was that before or after you got kicked out of that school?" the storyteller asked, while a waitress took the other's orders.

"After. But the Gossip Stones really seem to like me for some reason. I keep bumping into them. Especially _that_ one..."

"Hey, is it true that the Gossip Stone are from different...time...umm..." A burly man rubbed his beard, trying to think of the word.

"Timelines?" Link offered. "All the professors agree on that. I mean, there's no way these legends can be from one timeline. So far, they've been able to track 4 known timelines."

"And for some reason these stones from different worlds showed up in your town?"

"I know! Cool, right?"

"Hmm." Another burly man waved his hand down at Link. "Maybe you're our legendary Hero."

The group laughed, Link included.

"Can't be me. The Hero was amazing. He could do almost anything. Like he actually beat a couple of yetis in a sled competition!"

"You got that from a bunch of stones?"

"Not just Gossip Stones," Link carried on. "I mean, the university has history books from across our land. Not to mention a few decades ago, a group of Sheikah warriors visited Ordon." Link nodded his head. "My professors told me they all got pretty drunk one night and blabbed more than those Gossip Stones."

"Man, I'd paid good money to see that!"

"So, is that some of the secret stuff you were talking about?" the storyteller asked.

"What's secret stuff?" another one of his friends asked.

"Oh, the Gossips Stones love to talk and tell all, but there are some things they ask you to keep secret." Link smiled. "One of my professors said they're a pretty good judge of character and so they only tell certain people. The Gossip Stone usually go: "Hey, just between you and me." And then "Remember, this is a secret, don't tell anyone.""

"Then, shouldn't you...not be telling us this?"

"Hmmm," Link goes. "I guess I never thought about that. I mean," he started to rub his chin, "it's not like I'm telling you _what_ the Stone actually said."

"You're kind of an idiot, aren't you?"

"My professors say that, too."

"So, what are some secrets?"

"No!" Link waved his hands. "One time I accidentally blabbed a minor secret and that Gossip Stone showed up in the middle of the night and kept me up by singing that 8th King song." Link shook his head. "That Gossip Stone is a horrible singer."

Speaking of horrible singers, a group men in green came in singing a rendition of one the Hero's tales. Link waved to them as they got their seats.

"Know them?" one the bigger men asked.

"I met some on the ride up here. I'm surprised there are this many would-be heroes here."

"I'm more surprised they haven't found the princess, yet," another guy said.

"Well, what do you expect?" a new voice joined the the conversation. "Some half-wit to show up one day and instantly find the princess?" the newcomer asked, sitting down.

"Hmm," the storyteller nodded towards the newcomer. "I guess you have a point, Sheik."

Link's jaw dropped. He had to blink a few times, trying to see if his eyes and ears were playing tricks on him. Nope. There was indeed a Sheikah, wearing a mask and turban, named Sheik sitting right in front him.

"Uhhh..." No one heard Link as the group's conversation was steered to a new topic. It gave Link time to think. Specifically to when that Gossip Stone told him one the biggest secrets kept amongst them. He remembered it quite clear:

"They say the Hero of Time was helped by a young Sheikah man," the Gossip Stone began.

"That's not a secret..." Link said.

"I'm not done, yet!"

Link hushed up and let the Gossip Stone continued.

"So, everyone knows about the Sheikah guide. That's no secret. But not everyone knows the Sheikah called himself 'Sheik', and that 'he' was actually Princess Zelda in disguise."

And Link remembered the feeling of shock, and also joy, at that moment. "That's amazing! How..." He also remembered he could barely speak for a moment because of his excitement. "This is so cool! How come this is a secret?"

"Because what if a Zelda needs to hide again? The Sheik disguise is the best. Trust me, you would never guess Sheik was Princess Zelda. Heck, you'd barely guess Sheik was a woman if you saw him...her...Eh, you get what I'm saying."

And with Sheik sitting right in front of him, Link did, indeed, see what that Gossip Stone meant. There was hardly anything feminine about Sheik. Definitely nothing princess-y. The princess. He felt astonished and filled with awe. Here was the princess, in disguise, hiding...

… Wait, hiding? What's she hiding from? And didn't people say they saw the princess get turned into stone? Then how Sheik could be here?

"Hey, Sheik, staying for lunch this time?" the storyteller asked.

"Sorry, Niko, I'm going to grab my food and head back to the theater. I'm setting up the special effects for the play tomorrow."

"Your special effects are the best, Sheik! I can't wait to see this show."

Just how could Sheik do it, Link wondered.

"Something wrong?" Sheik asked.

"Huh?" Link shook his head from his train of thought.

"You've been staring."

Had he? Oh, I guess he had.

Sheik rested her cheek on her palm. "What?" she asked, a little amused. "Is there something on my face?" She lightly tapped her fingers on her mask.

"Uhhh..."

The table got a chuckle out of it.

"He's cool," Niko said. "He's gonna crash at my place tonight."

"What?" one of the bigger men raised his voice. "It's my place, too. Don't you have to ask your roommate before you invite people over?"

"Do you?" Niko placed his hand on his chin and tilted his head. "Well, sorry, Gonzo. So, can Link spend the night at the apartment?"

Gonzo looked over Link and shrugged. "Yeah, it's fine."

Link gave a little laugh. "Thanks. So, umm," he turned his attention back to Sheik.

A waitress was handing a wrapped container to Sheik. Standing up, Sheik paid the waitress and started heading towards the door. "Later, guys."

"W-wait!" Link called out. Wow, she was fast. "I have to ask you som-Oof!" Link had the misfortune of tripping over his own feet in his shuffle to catch her before she left and landed flat on his face.

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt," winced Gonzo. The rest of the table agreed.

Link looked up and saw the Bar's door shutting close.

"Hey," the beefy looking man called the bartender over. "Can I get some milk for my coffee?"

To be continued.


	2. Chapter 2

Link held his glass of cold milk to his face. Talk about embarrassing. He hoped the princess didn't see him fall like that. He slowly removed the glass from his face. "Ow..." Though, despite the pain, this was amazing. To not only have found the princess, but while she was disguised as Sheik? So cool. He wished he could write back to his friends at the university, and tell them this, but he didn't know which ones knew the secret about Sheik.

"Hey," Gonzo got his attention. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

Looking up, Link thought about it, then shook his head 'no'.

"Really?" He shook his head and crossed his arms. "I said, don't go bothering Sheik with all your nerd questions. It's bad enough he has all these would-be heroes bugging him to be their Sheikah guide, like _they're_ the real Hero or something or another."

He? Link thought. Oh, right. Link would have to be careful not to refer to Sheik as a girl in front of...well, everyone.

"Besides," Gonzo went on. "If you have questions about the Palace, you'd best ask the Royal Guards." He pointed to some off-duty ones hanging out at the bar. "They're pretty talkative if you buy them a drink."

"They like apple juice, by the way," Niko chimed in.

"Hmm." Link looked over at the guards before turning back to Gonzo. "But can I ask Sheik some questions?"

"Uh..." Gonzo wasn't sure how to respond when Link asked for permission. After all, it wasn't his permission to give. Still, it felt nice to be asked. "Yeah. Sure, Just...just don't bombard him with a bunch of questions, okay?"

Link nodded as the waitress came to collect their bills.

"Anyhow, Link," Niko spoke up after finishing his drink. "I bet you got a bunch of sightseeing to do and Mako, Zuko and me got a side job to do."

"The job requires men of short stature," Mako adjusted his glasses and Zuko grunted in agreement.

"But, hey, Link, let meet here for dinner tonight and then we can head back to my place afterwards."

"Yeah, sounds great."

With that, they left the restaurant and headed off in their respective directions. Except for Link. He wasn't sure where to even begin. "Maybe I should find out where the theater is," he murmured to himself. He eventually got directions to it. He even tried knocking on the door, but a man inside yelled they were closed until tomorrow. "Drat..."

He hoped to talk to the princess before dinner tonight. After all, her disguise was a secret and he didn't want to talk about it around her friends. "Huh." Link realized how lucky he was to have meet Niko. He liked the little guy and he met Sheik through him. Link found himself smiling wide. He met Sheik! How cool!

With that, Link spent the remainder of the day geeking out over Zelda lore while finding his way around town. It seemed like every building reminded him of something from the legend. The weapon shop, the mask boutique, the archery and games booth: All added to his excitement of this in-progress tale.

He also meet a bunch of super-nice, helpful people. Talking with them he found out, prior to her kidnapping, that Princess Zelda used to visit the town at least once a month.

"Sounds like she really loved her people," Link said, talking to one of villagers.

"She did. Such a sweetheart. We're all awaiting her safe return. In fact, have you seen a young Sheikah man around?"

"Yes," Link said plainly. Boy, did he ever.

"He says he was fired from the castle after the kidnapping, but none of us believe him."

"Oh?" Link leaned in.

The villager started to whisper. "We all believe he's actually waiting for the true Hero to appear and guide him to the Princess."

Link chuckled.

"Oh, but don't tell him that." The villager went back to a normal voice. "Sheik is a good, hard-working lad and it's nice seeing him more than once a week."

"Once a week?"

"Oh, sure. For a couple of years, he came down from the castle to play music with his friends. Still performs, of course."

"I met those guys earlier. I didn't know they had a band."

"Hopefully, you'll get a chance to hear them play. They're not bad."

"I'm actually going to meet them for dinner tonight and crash with a couple of them."

"Goodness, you seem to get around fast."

Link laughed. "Speaking of dinner." It was getting late. "I should get going."

"Have fun." The villager waved Link off.

As Link was walking back to the Milk Bar, he couldn't help but think what he would say to the princess. He figured he couldn't straight up ask her why she was in disguise. And his old classmates told multiple times he sucked at being subtle. Maybe he should just talk to Niko and the others, so he wouldn't blurt out something he wasn't suppose to.

"Ugh," a passerby on the street grumble. "Those Cows-For-Peace people are at the Milk Bar again."

"I thought they were banned from that place," their friend replied.

Link wondered what that was about.

"Wow, so glad I didn't go to the Milk Bar tonight," said another person he passed. "I heard these men, dressed like cows, are giving the owner a hard time."

Link became a little worried over this. He wanted to enjoy his dinner with Niko and all.

"Dude! Cows-For-Peace guys just picked a fight with Gonzo and his gang!"

Oh boy.

Link hurried to the Milk Bar. Sure enough, outside the bar Gonzo, his crew including Sheik, were fighting about 15 grown men wearing cow hoodies. Another half a dozen cow men were unconscious on the ground.

Gonzo and the other two big ones, Link believed their names were Nudge and Senza, were doing good, as expected. The little guys, he was impressed how scrappy they were. And, wow, Sheik could fight. Link suspected she was responsible for most of the unconscious cow guys.

"Hey, Link!" Niko called over. "Come join the fight! It's fun!"

"What are you fighting about?" Link yelled back.

"They wouldn't leave the owner alone, and called us a bunch 'mammary-gland-juice-drinking savages', and threw milk in Gonzo's face!"

Link had heard lesser reasons to start a bar fight.

Fight. He was bad at fighting. But he remembered his old classmates saying nothing brought people closer together than fighting against a cause. Just why did that cause have to be a group of men dressed as cattle?

Link took a deep breath. Oh, this was gonna suck. With a yell, he charged in and tackled the first cow guy in his path. He managed to tip the guy over.

"Yeah, new guy!" shouted one of Gonzo's crew. He wasn't sure who at the moment. The guy he tackled started to kick at him, and Link started to punch back, and boy was it a mess. Until Niko brought over a chair to hit the guy with, knocking him unconscious.

"That's how we do it! Right, Link?" Niko helped Link up.

"Yeah..." Link replied. Niko moved onto the next closest guy and Link helped by grabbing the guy's arms from behind. He then helped Mako trip over another, joined the dog piled Nudge and Senza started, and pushed the guy Gonza was fighting down, each earning a 'thanks, pal!' from them.

Wow, maybe he should go help Sheik and get on her good graces, too. Sheik just kicked a guy against a wall, before planting an elbow in his face.

Ouch, that looked painful.

Thinking he was down for the count, she moved to find another opponent. He wasn't, though, and he grabbed a chair.

"Hey!" Link yelled, as he ran over. "Watch," before Link could finish his warning, the guy hit Sheik over the head with the chair. Link winced. Those chairs could knock someone out. Sheik wobbled forward and Link instinctively held out his arms to catch her. He didn't need to because she took a step forward, pivoted, and punched the living snot out of that guy.

Huh, she was tough!

The fight didn't last long after that with Gonzo and his gang the victors.

Gonzo gave a triumphant laugh as he rubbed his sore knuckles."I guess you Cow guys could say you were udder-ly defeated!"

"Uuuhhh," groaned everyone.

"What? That was a good joke!"

While everyone started to give each other high-fives, Sheik was trying hard to remain standing.

"Sheik, you okay?" Senza asked.

"No need to be concern. I am alright," she said. However, it didn't sound like that at all. It sounded like: "No woorries. Imma fffffine."

"What happened to Sheik?" Gonzo asked.

"Someone hit him over the head with a chair," Link answered.

"Ouch," the group said.

"Okay, Sheik." Senza walked over to her. "Let's get you to the healers and buy you a potion." He went to lead her to the shop, but she weakly pushed his hands away.

"Don't need no potion," she continued to slur.

"You don't, huh? Okay, tell me how many fingers I'm holding up."

Sheik had to squint. "Four?"

"Hm. Good guess. Okay. Question: Where are we?"

"Castle...Town."

"Okay," he said, impressed but still not convinced. "You're doing pretty good. One more: Who are you?"

In her muddled speech, with random syllables spoken higher than others, she was able to proclaim: "I'm the Princess of Hyrule!"

Everyone busted out laughing. Except Link.

"What?" Sheik asked.

"Okay, your 'Majesty _'_." Senza managed to quell his laughter down. "Let's get you back to the "Palace" and get you a nice red drink that'll make you feel better." He held her by the shoulders and they started walking in the direction of the healers.

"What? What's so funny? What did I...Oooooh noooooo!" Sheik groaned, realizing what she said.

"Okay, guys," Gonzo said. "Let's clean up this mess." They began to put tables and chairs back in their proper positions, shoving unconscious cow guys out of their way. The Cows-For-Peace people eventually came around and staggered off.

"And don't come back!"

The owner gave them all a free meal for taking care of that problem and cleaning up.

"So, new guy." Nudge gave Link, well, a nudge on the shoulder. "That was some fighting out there."

Link smiled nervously. "I guess."

"No, you did great! Notice how _none_ of those would-be heroes helped, but you, you helped us out!"

"I really didn't do all that much. I think Sheik took out most those guys."

"Well, how about that. You and Sheik are our heroes. Or should I say you and the Princess!" Everyone started to laugh. Except Link.

"I can't wait to tease Sheik about that." Mako chuckled into his hand.

"Yeah," Gonzo agreed. "Also, no wonder those would-be heroes haven't found the princess, yet, because he's right here in Town!" More laughter followed.

"Yeah, Link, don't go off with them tomorrow," Niko pleaded. "I know you wanna help look for the princess, and all, but those guys are useless."

Oh, right. He forgotten he was suppose to do that. He laughed. It did seem pointless to go look for the princess when she was in town. In fact, Sheik just came in the door with Senza following her.

Smiling, Link announced: "You know what? You're right. I am going to stay."

The gang cheered.

Senza and Sheik sat down and, after inquiring about her health (She was all healed. She even brought extra potions for the group), they told them Link decided to stay.

"Who's that?" Sheik asked, her speech back to normal. She looked over. "Oh, you're the person who fell on his face this morning."

Of course she saw that! Link frowned. "And you're the Princess of Hyrule."

Everyone laughed, Link included, and Sheik blushed. She eventually joined in the laughter and took her teasing with a good sense of humor.

Surrounded by his new friends, Link was happy he came to Castle Town.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ow!" Link quickly sat up from his pillow on the floor and held his abdomen.

"Oh. Sorry, Link!" Niko quickly regained his balance after stepping on Link. "Forgot you were here."

Luckily, Niko was a small man. "S'kay. I'm good," Link muttered, wiping sleep out of his eyes with his other hand. "What time is it?" he yawned. The only light he saw was the dying embers from the fireplace.

"Almost dawn," Niko answered.

With that, Link laid his head back on the pillow and pulled the blanket over him

"You know, if you're going to go back to sleep, you can take my bed."

Link weighed in the options: Actual bed, or getting up temporarily. Given the choices, one would think Link would automatically chose the comfy bed over the hard floor of Niko's and Gonzo's apartment, but his mind reasoned, won't know the difference once he's asleep.

"Gonzo already left for his morning job. I'm heading out soon, too."

"Hmm." If Niko was going to keep talking, Link might as well get up and get in the comfy bed.

"Just be sure to lock up when you leave."

"Mmhmm," Link replied. "Mmm." The bed felt so much better. Good call.

Niko kept talking while he was getting ready for the day. Link only heard it as a soft murmur as he drifted back to sleep. When he awoke again, the sun was out and he was finally ready to get up.

There was a paper on his head. "Hmm?" He plucked it off and saw the note signed by Niko. He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to focus on the words. "'Dinner...usual spot...Apartments for rent...Job postings.'" Link sat up and placed the note on his lap. "Oh yeah. I guess I'll need to get a job."

Link originally planned on getting a job after the princess was rescued. However, the princess was perfectly fine and in no need of rescuing. To be honest, Link almost felt a little bad for the group of would-be heroes who left this morning for their, now, dead-end lead. Still, Link figured they'd at least have a fun adventure.

Besides going on an adventure, Link had hoped to pick up some expensive treasures, or, at the very least, some of those fabled rupees in the tall grass. To this day, he had yet to find a single rupee, and he searched like crazy when he was a kid.

With a shrug, he got out of bed and got his bag together. Another thing, had he known he was going to be be staying in Castle Town so soon he wouldn't have packed so light. His old classmates did have a point: If he was going to be adventuring, last thing he'd want was to lug around a huge pack.

With his satchel thrown over his shoulder, he locked the door and headed out. The note said there was a bulletin board full of job postings. Link believed he saw that yesterday during his sightseeing. Ah, there it was. He began reading over some of the listings.

"Oh, well look who it is."

Link turned. "Hey, Nudge!" Link smiled.

"Hey to you, too, Link." Nudge gave Link a clap on the shoulder. "So, sleep good?

"Eh, Gonzo snores." Link heard a soft chuckle after his comment.

"Niko says that, too." Link's smile got brighter when he saw it was Sheik. "And now we have a witness to verify it."

"Hey, Sheik."

"Hello," she said before her and Nudge started to read the bulletin board.

"Hmm." Link thought about it. "Hey, Sheik don't you have that theater job?"

"And the fish market job, the band gigs, and occasional delivery jobs."

"Sounds like you keep busy."

"I have to. And with my one side job coming to an end, I have to find another to replace it. Like Nudge here with his current construction job."

Nudge nodded. "It's not bad. If I can't find anything here, I heard they're doing some renovation on the south side."

"Hmm." Link tried to go back to reading the bulletin board, too, however it was hard with her there. He wanted to ask, first off, didn't she bring any money with her from the Palace? Did princesses even get allowances? Second thing he wanted to ask was the big one: Why are you in disguise? Yet, he didn't even know how to begin with his questions. He especially couldn't ask with Nudge there.

"You're staring again," Sheik said.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Link turned his head back to the board.

Sheik gave a small sigh. "I know that look." She turned to face him. "You have questions. Go ahead. Get them out so we can go about our business."

Link glanced away. He now felt embarrassed about it. "I'm just...really glad you're okay." It wasn't a total lie. After all, she was suppose to be a stone statue and imprisoned by a witch.

Sheik gave a small laugh. "It was just a chair to the head," she said, thinking he was referring to last night's fight. She regarded him for a brief moment, smiled to herself, and returned her attention to the board.

Nudge gave a small smile Link's way, too.

"Hey, look." Link pointed to an ad. "They got two openings at the restaurant down the street. Wanna work together, Sheik?"

Sheik shook her head. "Can't do restaurants."

"How come?"

Nudge giggled. "He's banned from all restaurant jobs," he said, which earned him a glare from Sheik. Nudge just shrugged with an amused smile.

"Why?" Link asked. "That doesn't seem fair."

"First day on the job and he accidentally starts a fire." Nudge pointed down to the bottom of the bulletin board. Bending down, Link saw a few tiny notes made out to a different people. He then spotted one with a single sentence on it: "Sheik, you're banned from all restaurant jobs!"

"Oh, c'mon!" Link rolled his eyes, as he stood up. "That's ridiculous. I mean, didn't we all have some sort of kitchen accidents when we first learned to cook?"

Nudge chuckled into one hand and waved the other. "It was a dish-washing job."

Confused, Link mouthed the word 'how'.

"Anyway." Sheik tapped on an ad, trying to steer the conversation away. "I found something that looks good." She ripped the piece of paper from its nail.

Nudge grabbed a listing from the top. "This job looks as good as any."

"Oh, ah..." Link quickly looked to the board and, not wanting to feel left out, grabbed one.

Sheik peeked over at his. "That boss is a jerk." She plucked the listing from his hand and replaced it with another. "This establishment is better."

"Thanks!" He smiled, happy to receive the individual attention. He then started to read the listing and frowned.

"What?" Sheik asked. "Don't like it?"

"Oh, no." Link shook his head. "Not at all. I'm just trying to figure out where this is."

"Is that it? Well, you're in luck, I happen to be heading in that direction myself." She turned to Nudge and gave him a small nod.

Nudge waved to the two. "See you later."

"Bye, Nudge." Link waved goodbye. He looked back to Sheik, who started to lead the way. "Hey, thanks for showing me where it is."

"It is nothing," she said while they walked down the street and passed various people going about their day.

"Hey, um, sorry about the restaurant thing."

Sheik gave a tiny shrug. "I think I rather eat at restaurants than work at them."

Link laughed. It surprised Sheik and she glanced over at him. She then tilted her head back to the street and straighten out a bit of her bangs.

"Hey, so that theater job, the play's tonight, right?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. It is. In fact, I believe you will enjoy it."

"Oh yeah?"

Sheik nodded her head. "It's about the hot topic now: A tale about the Hero of Legends."

"Ooo!" Link's interest did pique up. He was about to ask her which era when Sheik spoke up again.

"Speaking of things you'll enjoy. Watch this." She motioned her head in front of them. Link turned and saw a would-be hero in green walking up to them. Well, to Sheik.

When he reached them he announced: "I've finally found you!"

Sheik turned to Link "Why, Link, have you done something to warrant this man's attention?"

"No, no." The would-be hero shook his head. "Not him. You. The Sheikah."

"Me?" Sheik asked innocently and pointed to herself. "What do you need me for?"

"I think it's obvious." The man puffed up his chest and placed his hands on his hips. "Don't you think?"

"Perhaps you should clarify."

"I can understand. You have all these other guys in green, walking about like they're the real Hero, but I am here to declare your search is over!" He pulled out his sword and held it high in a some-what dramatic pose. "For I am the real Hero!"

"Mmhmm, you don't say," Sheik said plainly. "Well, let me be the judge of that. I have some questions for you,"

"Hey, are you right-handed?" Link interrupted her and pointed to the guy's sword hand.

"Umm, yeah?" The guy did a quick look at his sword.

"You can't be the Hero, then."

"Why's that?" both the man and Sheik asked.

"The Hero's left handed."

Sheik clapped her hands together suddenly. "Well, you heard the scholar here," she announced loudly. "You cannot be the Hero for the Hero is left-handed." Before the would-be hero could respond, Sheik grabbed Link's arm and walked past him. "Bye," she said casually, as she and Link walked away.

The would-be hero watched them, utterly confused, until he raise his hands in the air, wondering what just happened here.

Once they reached a corner, Sheik turned and started chuckling. "Left-handed! Oh, that's a good one." She let go of his arm to give him a couple of pats on the shoulder. "That was the quickest I've ever gotten rid of a would-be hero. I should thank you."

"Um...you're welcome?"

Sheik leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms. "So, is that part true? About the hero being left-handed?"

"Yeah," Link answered excitedly.

"I'm surprised that university of yours teaches such things."

"Oh no, they don't. The Legend Department focuses on the philosophy and history surrounding the Triforce."

"Hmm," Sheik murmured.

"But the Gossips Stone loves to talk and, well,...I love to listen."

Sheik nodded her head. "They say being a good listener is a good quality."

"Ah, thanks! My friends say I talk too much."

"You do that, too. Last night you talked waaaay too much."

"Huh..." Link started to scratch his cheek. "I guess I did."

Sheik gave another light chuckle. "It is fine. There is nothing wrong with being enthusiast."

Link couldn't help but smile.

"Well, I think I took up enough of your time." Sheik gestured towards the other side of the street. "Good luck. I hope you get that job."

Link looked up and there was the store. "Oh." He didn't realize it was so close.

"See you at the play tonight?" she asked hopefully.

"What? Yeah! Of course."

"Wonderful. Until later." She started walking away. However, a new question popped into Link's head.

"Hey, Sheik."

"Yes?" She turned around.

Link made an uneasy face. "So, I know you don't want to deal with would-be heroes...but ...what would you do if you met the real Hero?"

Sheik gave a laugh. "I certainly hope I don't. He'd soon learn I would be of no help to him."

"Really?"

Sheik shrugged. "Just because I am a Sheikah does not mean I know where the witch took the princess." Sheik glanced to the side with a melancholy look in her eyes. "Besides, if I knew how to save...Zelda from her fate I would have done so by now." She closed her eyes.

Link took a step towards her. "Sheik, there's something else I want to talk to you about." I know who you are. I want to help.

"And what is that, Li~"

"There you are!" a loud, booming voice announced, startling the both of them.

Sheik turned around and saw who it was. "You again?!"

There, walking up to them, was a very tall man, with broad shoulders and large biceps, however what stood out most about him was how his bright, red hair stood up in a huge pompadour.

Sheik crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "Didn't I tell you to buzz off last time?"

"No. Pretty sure your big goons told me that," the man said in a casual way.

Link could imagine Gonzo, Senza and Nudge being protective over Sheik.

"Either way,...umm...Goose, was it?"

"Groose!"

"My apologies. So, Groose, I thought it was made clear I cannot I help you."

"You sure didn't help, pal. I went to that valley place and there wasn't a single clue about the princess's whereabouts."

Link looked Groose over again. He sounded like a would-be hero, but he wasn't wearing green, or a tunic, or even that funny hat the Hero was always depicted with.

"Wait...Valley? What do you mean..." Sheik's eyes shot open in terror. "You..." Her voice got very quiet. "You didn't go to the Valley of Sears did you?"

"I sure did! And there was bupkis there! Hm?" Groose looked off to the side. "Regarding the princess anyway. There certainly was a bunch of treasure there." He patted his bag, which jingled from all the goods he acquired.

Now that was the kind of loot Link was talking about! Maybe he should go on one of those quests with a group of would-be heroes. Link gave it a thought. No. If he left he wouldn't be able to hang out with Niko and Sheik.

"You idiot!" Sheik yelled at Groose. "You could have gotten hurt! Why did you go there?"

"Because _you_ told me the princess was chillin' there."

"Y-you thought I was serious? I used the word 'chillin''. I also told you, immediately afterward, that was a joke and only a fool would go there!"

Groose got quiet for a moment, as Sheik glared at him. "I thought you were telling the truth hoping I would think it was lie," he said in all honesty.

Sheik threw her hands in the air. "Done!" With that, Sheik walked way. Groose didn't follow. Even he realized his error.

Link didn't want to get involved in this, so he went across the street to apply for the job. Link sighed. Too bad that Groose guy showed up when he did. He really wanted to let Sheik knew she had an ally. Then again, maybe it was best Groose showed up. I mean, they were on a public street and what if someone overheard them talk about her bring the princess? Yeah, definitely best they got interrupted. After all, it's not like he'd never see her again. He was going to see her tonight at the play. Link smiled. A play about the Hero with special effect done by the princess. Link couldn't help but geek out over that!


	4. Chapter 4

The play went off, relatively, without a hitch. There was an issue with the Goron mascot head, but Sheik and the other stagehands were able to pry it off just in time for the actor's next scene. Because of the large list of characters, many of the players performed double, or even triple, roles, except for the tiny actress who played the Hero when he was a boy.

The audience cheered as the curtain fell, and immediately after the applause ended Link reached into his bag for paper.

Niko looked over as Link hurried moved his pencil. "Whatcha drawin', Link?"

"Majora's Mask."

Niko took another look. "But your mask looks nothing like the one in the play."

"I know." Link nodded his head. "That's why I have to draw it. That way the guy in charge of props can hopefully fix it."

"Wait." Gonzo leaned over. "How do you know what it looks like? Last time I checked those Gossip Stones don't exactly have hands to draw with."

Link gave a little laugh. "Well, yeah, but I ask that Gossip Stone to describe it to me until I got it right." Link thought back to that drawing session. About how, even though that Gossip Stone was his...usual self...

"Wow, you see, there's what I said and then there's what you're drawing."

...he still stuck with Link till he did get it right.

Mako gave a chuckle. "So, you want to show that to the prop guy, huh, Link?" He turned to Gonzo. "What do you say, Gonzo? Shall we go educate the man?"

Gonzo grinned. "Good idea. Let's go." With that, Gonzo and his gang exited their seats, as the majority of the audience already had, and proceeded to walk towards the stage.

"Oh." Link got up, balanced his papers, and quickly followed. He then realized where they were heading. "We're allowed backstage?"

"Of course!" Senza said. "We have V.I.P. Passes!"

Link smiled. "V.I.P..?"

"Yep!" Senza answered. "They know they'll have a Very Imperative Problem if they don't let us back there." The six of them all gave a smug little laugh.

Sure enough, no one gave them any gruff backstage, though one guy gave them a dirty look. They looked around until Zuko gave Gonzo a pat and then pointed upwards. The gang followed suit and saw Sheik securing rope atop the scaffolding over the stage.

"Whoa, that was a great play," Gonzo spoke loudly. "Ain't that right, guys?"

His raised voice seemed to do the trick as Sheik lifted her head from her work and looked for them below.

"Plus those special effects. Top notch!" Nudge added in.

"I heard from a reliable source they were all practical effects, too; no magic at all!" Senza chimed in.

Sheik gave a quiet little giggle.

"Really. No magic?" Link thought back to a couple of scenes from the play. Those were just smoke and mirrors? "That is impressive."

"Aw, thanks, Link," Sheik said. "Hey, guys, give me a minute and I'll be right down." She quickly finished up with the rope and then shimmied down the ladder.

Everyone told her what a great job she did on the play and once they were satisfied Sheik got enough compliments-

"Hey, Sheik." Gonzo had a big grin on his face, "Our little nerd here," he turned his head towards Link, "has something he wants to~ What in the world?" Gonzo practically shouted that last part, seeing Link filling out a fourth page. "D-don't tell me those are all drawings?"

"Hmm?" Link looked up and then back down at his papers. "Oh no," he continued casually. "I'm writing out some things."

" _Some_ things?!" Gonzo looked again at the text on the page. "How can you write that fast?" The rest of the gang wanted to know as well.

Link waved his hand. "My first-year professor talked very fast, so I had to learn or else I'd miss out on the lessons."

Sheik crossed her arms and tilted her head. "So, what are these things you're writing?"

"Just something for whoever wrote the play."

"That would also be our director."

"Oh, good. That'll make it much easier then."

However his statement made Sheik feel uneasy. "Easier...for what?"

"When the director fixes all the inaccuracies in the play. I mean it was a fun play, but there were so many things they got wrong from the actual tale."

An impish smile came across Gonzo and the rest of them as they saw the alarmed look on Sheik's face.

"You...want to tell the director, my boss, who is a bit of a control freak, about all the things wrong with his play from..." the page count was now up to 5, "your list?"

Gonzo and all had to hold their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing at Sheik.

Link nodded his head, completely oblivious to Sheik's obvious distress, and gave her a big, cheerful smile. "Can you imagine how much better the play will be with a more accurate rendition?"

And Link said this with such childlike innocence it left Sheik speechless for a few seconds. Had there been an ounce of smugness or a condescending tone, Sheik would knew how to respond, but, no, he genuinely thought he was helping.

"Why don't..." she started started out quietly, still trying to think of how to handle the situation without hurting his feelings. Oh wait. "Why don't you give me your papers and I'll give them to the director. He's a very busy man but he always has time for his staff."

"Aww, you'd do that for me, Sheik?" Link asked wide-eyed and full of gratitude.

"...Yep. That's what friends are for..."

Her other friends were actually looking forward to one of her zingers, but they understood if Sheik did that to Link now, it'd be like kicking a puppy.

Link jolted down some last minute scribbles and handed the papers to her. "Thanks, Sheik! You're the best."

"No problem," Sheik weakly muttered out, not even able to look him in the eyes, as she rolled the papers and tucked them behind her. "So, um, Link," Sheik started, trying to change the topic. "Any luck with that job?"

"Oh yeah! I start tomorrow. You're right: The boss there is nice."

Sheik hummed agreeably. "I'm glad it worked in your favor."

"Yep. Not only that, I signed a lease on a place. I'll be living at the Rosy Rupeeland Apartment complex."

"You're there, you say?" she said a little amused. "Well, isn't that nice, you know-"

"Hey, Sheik!" one of the other stagehands called over to her. "You done, yet?"

Sheik gave a snort and shook her head. "It's like they want me to actually work at my job or something?" They all gave a chuckle and she waved as she left to do her job. "See you tomorrow, guys."

They waved back and took their leave.

"Hey, you all hungry?" Niko asked once they were outside.

Nudge gave a small sigh, closed his eyes and place a hand on his cheek. "I am feeling a bit peckish..."

Everyone else chimed in they were all feeling that way, even though they all had dinner before the show.

"You know what this calls for?" Gonzo asked.

"What?" they all replied.

"Cookies and milk!"

"Yeah!"

With that, they headed to their favorite restaurant to enjoy dessert and casual conversation.

As they headed off for their treat, Sheik finished up with the cleaning. "I'm just saying, if they can sneak the snacks in, you'd think they could at least sneak the consequential trash out," she complained to another staff member while emptying her dust pan into the trash receptacle. He nodded his head and went off to attend to another duty.

Sheik was about to do the same, but soon as she turned, she stopped.

With grimace she knew she was not going to show Link's papers to her boss. If either herself or Link gave those papers to him, he would become angry, yell at them, and the papers would end up in the trash. While she turned back around to the trash bin, she pulled the papers out and became unrolling them. She gave a silent apology to Link and mentally noted she'd buy him a drink later, to help make up for what she was about to do.

With a sigh she pulled her hand back to toss the papers when she noticed, in that quick motion, a drawing on one of the pages. "Huh?" She pulled out the page and read the text on it. "What Majora's Mask really looks like." She lifted an eyebrow. Wow, this was different from how she envisioned it. Link knew what it actually looked like? She gave a small laugh. If anyone did, their little nerd Link would, she reasoned. She turned to another page to read the jotted down text.

"Sheik, get back to work!"

"Ulp!" Jolted from her thoughts she did just so.

After an hour or so passed, the boys had finished their desserts and headed back to their respective apartments. Senza and Nudge accompanied Link since their building was past his.

"You know what I don't get?" Link asked and the two waited for him to continue. "Why didn't they do the Hero of Time's original tale for the play?" Ever since meeting Sheik, the Hero of Time's original tale was foremost in his mind.

"Which one was that?" Senza asked.

"Huh?" In his head Link could hear his old classmates telling him 'Not everyone knows all the details to the Legends'. "The one where he traveled back and forth between his childhood and adulthood. The one where he the princess sealed Ganondorf away with the help of the 7 sages."

"Well, if it involves the princess," Senza spoke up. "You just answered your own question."

Link tiled his head.

"You see," Senza went on, "they don't do plays that involve the princess here anymore. Not ever since Princess Zelda grew up into such a radiant young lady."

"Huh?"

"Mmmm," Senza made an uneasy face. "No actress wants to play the princess."

Link gave an amused snort. "What girl doesn't want to play a beautiful princess?"

"Those that don't want to be compared to the real thing." Senza shook his head a little. "No matter who the actress was, or how pretty she is, she could never be as dazzling as Princess Zelda. And believe you me, someone always told the actresses that."

"Eugh..." While Link was clueless in some regards, he certainly seen the consequences of similar words.

"Yeeep," Nudge chimed in. "You should have seen the damage those girls did. They were maaaaaad."

Link winced and nodded his head. He could only imagine the rage.

"Now, whenever they do a play about one of the Legends, it's the ones that don't have the princess or she has a voice-over part. Like the play tonight." Nudge patted Link on the shoulder "Oh, it's just too bad you weren't here earlier before Princess Zelda was kidnapped, Link. You might have gotten a chance to see her."

"Oh yeah, Link. Princess Zelda liked us!" Senza boasted.

"Mmmhmm." Nudge nodded. "Sheik denies it, but I know he's bragged about us to the Princess. Why else would she take such a shine to us riff-raff."

Senza gave a longing sigh. "To have someone as lovely as Princess Zelda take the time to personally talk to you...it really makes a guy feel special, you know."

"Oh, you!" Nudge gave Senza a playful push.

"What?" The two shared a laugh until a sad expression came across both their faces. Senza sighed again, this one wistful. "I wish the real Hero would show up and find her..."

Link looked down, knowing the truth.

"Anyway." Senza paused in front of Link's building. "Night, Link."

"Oh, uh, goodnight, guys."

"Toodles," Nudge said as he continued walking with Senza.

Link thought about what they said. What good would it do if the Hero found her? She didn't want to be found. Why? Why didn't she want to be found? He asked himself as he entered his apartment and shut the door.

Meanwhile, in the apartment above his, home from work, Sheik looked up briefly. She gave a smile, hearing her new downstairs neighbor shut his door. She then looked back down and continued to read the papers he wrote earlier.


End file.
